Maryland Congressman Delaney announces as first Democrat in race for president

by Don Parker/WJLA

In this Oct. 6, 2016 photo, U.S. Rep. John Delaney speaks to retired school personnel during a candidates forum in Cumberland, Md. Delaney, a Democrat, is seeking a third term representing Maryland's 6th Congressional District. (AP Photo/David Dishneau)

WASHINGTON (WJLA) —

Congressman John Delaney (D-Md.) announced today that he is running for president, the first Democrat to enter the race.

Delaney says he’ll make the announcement official on Saturday on Facebook Live, speaking from the neighborhood where he grew up in New Jersey.

Delaney, a progressive with a strong business background, was elected to Congress in 2012 and has represented Western Maryland in a battleground district that stretches down to include parts of Montgomery County.

“The current Administration is making us less prosperous and less secure, the healthcare debacle being the most recent example of their brand of destructive partisanship,” Delaney said.

The American people are far greater than the sum of our political parties. It is time for us to rise above our broken politics and renew the spirit that enabled us to achieve the seemingly impossible. This is why I am running for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States

Delaney says he’s the son of a union electrician and he founded two publicly-traded companies before he was 40.